Sony logs $1.2B net loss on troubled mobile phone unit

TOKYO (dpa) – Sony Corp on Friday posted a net loss of 136 billion yen (1.2 billion dollars) in the July-to-September period due to its struggling mobile communications unit.

Sony had booked a net loss of 19.6 billion yen in the same period last year.

The Japanese consumer electronics maker also booked an operating loss of 85.6 billion yen in the quarter, compared with an operating profit of 13.9 billion yen a year earlier, while sales grew 7.3 per cent to 1.9 trillion yen.

In September, Sony increased its estimated net loss to 230 billion yen for the current financial year from a net loss of 50 billion yen predicted in July.

The company also predicted an operating loss of 40 billion yen for the year through March 2015, compared with an operating profit of 140 billion yen estimated in July, whiles sales were expected at 7.8 trillion yen.

A man uses a smartphone as he walks past an advertisement for Sony Corp’s Xperia smartphones at an electronics retail store in Tokyo – REUTERS

Sony ended the previous financial year with a net loss of 128.4 billion yen, compared with a net profit of 41.5 billion yen the year before.